The New Regime- Metal Sonic's Storyline
by Schnitzelsahne
Summary: 3 decades after the events of Sonic Forces have passed with Mobius having went through majestic changes, leading it to become the wasteland it currently is. However, hope still lies in the independent Metal Sonic, who has decided to crawl out of his cave and set things straight. But he isn't alone; His mission now is to gather around as many past heroes as possible..
1. Chapter 1 Episode 1

Chapter 1 'Reunion'

Episode 1

Three months after the crucial battle against the illusionist Infinite had finally ended, the entire world was united under one government, "The Federal Republic of Mobius", to fortify peace and security for all its citizens. Its first president and world leader, Abraham Tower, was accountable for the many impacting changes and improvements made to the system, as well to the safety of the Mobian people. That is also why the notorious fiend, Dr. Eggman, was rightfully imprisoned for his highly cruel and criminal deeds. Many of his creations that rebelled against him were also released, but judged for their past doings when they were still obeying orders. Some were let free, whilst others, unquestionably me included, were continuously held for questioning and kept under strict watch. This process, at least for me, lasted for exactly four years until I was finally completely released. Surprisingly, the reception of my release was rather positive, which most definitely is still surprising to me.

During my long confinement, in the Eggman Empire as well in the Federal Republic, I practiced and mastered in using Chaos Energy and how I can harness it. My true, inner power was increased tremendously, making me nigh incomparable to even the toughest and sturdiest of users of this force. This enabled me to head out to the furthest outskirts of the galaxy after my anticipated release, whereas I discovered and explored new planets and new creatures, with other familiar races living there as well. Due to my excellent negotiation skills, imminent unlimited power and vast knowledge in technology, I was able to conquer a good quarter of the entire galaxy without any complications in just two years. This was my majestic Metal Empire, which had been around for good 16 years before it completely crumbled down from opposition and betrayal against me.

I mostly minded my own business with the dealings of Mobius, although relationships were mostly tense between us. During Tower's administration, we had a Cold War, which almost lead to a catastrophic hellfire exterminating most of the galaxy. Gladly it never escalated too harshly. The thing that always made us interfere with each other was my persecution against certain species. My Empire was mostly founded under the ideology of so-called "Mobian Supremacy", which, in short, believed that the domestic creatures of Mobius- like hedgehogs, rabbits, echidnas, etc. -were superior and more intelligent than the said beasts- like jackals, foxes, crocodiles, etc. –and so deserved to be either ruled over or even completely eradicated. My persecution evidently lead to a massive holocaust, killing over 100 million "undesirables".

After the assassination of the first president and the endorsement of the second one, Mighty the Armadillo, my empire peaked the most. It was the dominant force due to a heavy financial depression that hit Mobius during his term, which I could use for my own advantage to convince Sonic that the ideology I believed in could ultimately restore the planet to its former glory. As Sonic was anointed king to the new monarchy, founded by Mighty as a way to distract the citizens from the crisis, he was able to use his power to preach his new believes to as many people as possible. Many of Sonic's friends began to become sceptical of him, except Cream The Rabbit, who always had a high respect towards the hedgehog. She always paid close attention to what he had to say, and zealously preached his message as well. With firm conviction she ran for office and won, becoming the last president. That was the time when my empire crumbled down from resistance, betrayal and conflicts. Cream and her right hand companion Sonic wanted to create a government similar to mine, so she stirred the World Order further to the right. When her first term was supposed to be over, she completely shapeshifted the current regime into a fascist state, allowing her to become a long-lasting dictator. Many of course disapproved of this change and thus fought against the system, including most of Sonic's friends. After two years everything crumbled, Mobius became a planet where only anarchy ruled, and the former Freedom Fighters completely disbanded and went their separate ways.

It has been exactly 30 years after the rise of The Federal Republic. I am 42 years old, and spent many years meditating again. My viewpoints on life and my personality traits have changed. Everything I had done lead up to this moment of misery and pain. However, I do not condemn all my actions. They were inspired by beliefs and ideologies, which do not make it criminal. At least that is what keeps me going and prevents me from beating myself over the things that I made myself responsible for. Surprisingly, I have never felt the need to end my life or to hurt myself, and instead kept on being motivated not to look back. My focus was to lead a private life away from this wretched world forever. Lately, though, I have sensed a type of calling, like a voice trying to bring me back. It may be my conscience, or something greater. Whatever it was, it caused me to have odd dreams at night, making me see visions of a brighter and better future, which could only be restored if someone, with great power, were to form a union amongst the people again. I might be going crazy, so perhaps having me to attempt to save the world is not necessarily the best thing, but at the same time, this planet has nothing to lose. I might as well.

Crawling out of my lonesome cave, I decided to start up my old engine again. I did not use it since an earthquake struck the area I was living in. That has been four years ago, so who knows in what shape it may now be in. I stood upright on a wide field without any obstacles that may hinder my start. My eyes and sensors focused on the sun that was straight ahead of me. Slowly counting down numbers, the propeller on my back proceeded to move faster and faster. It made a few unsettling noises, but they soon went away. In a matter of just seconds, my engine was ready and set for take-off. Preparing myself mentally and physically, I took the risk and dashed into the air. I was impressed how powerful and fast it still was after years of me not using it. It was a delightful and exciting thing to experience again. If I had done this much earlier, I would have felt the joy of inner freedom long time ago. Looping and zipping through clouds for an unknown time, I eventually reached Station Square, once a grand megalopolis, now a massive wasteland. Every trace of the anarchist revolution is still visible and clear, saddening me yet again. Time to face the reality again I tried years to forget. I decided to land inside a bar, whose roof was gone. Going back through my memory, I recall having spent a lot of time there. The atmosphere was calming and chilling, which is something I always adored. Whilst examining the place more thoroughly, I suddenly felt the presence of another creature. My Chaos Energy allowed me to trace where this feeling was coming from. I had no interest in surprises, which is why I simply rushed towards the source. Ripping open a cabinet, I actually found myself being surprised. At first, I couldn't identify the creature laying hunched over, but as I examined closer, I was able to recognize who it was. In front of me lay the bruised and wounded body of no one else but Charmy the Bee. He seemed unconscious, and I didn't want to wake him up immediately, which is why I drug him out in order to safely put him on a nearby table. His entire outer appearance was in a rough shape, as if he was battling with wild beasts for past decades. Then, with the help of my powers, I woke him back up. Charmy was understandably shocked when seeing me, trying to let out a noise. I stopped him, however, from uttering a word.

"You are surprised. In a state of shock. Please listen to me first before making a statement. What are you doing here, and why? Are you alone? Please do not resist. You do not want to make this situation complicated."

Slowly getting back on his feet, the quivering bee held himself on the sides of the table, continuously letting his head face to the ground. After getting a good breath, he steadily opened his mouth and gave a reply.

"Well, ya got some nerves! Nah, I ain't afraid of you. But Imma answer you anyway, bucket-head. See, since Chaotix ain't no more, I gotta find ways to take care of myself! And the only way I can do so in this planet is by letting myself into some shady business. Did so for 3-4 years. Joined multiple gangs. Once you leave, they come after ya. As you see, I couldn't protect myself from the man."

Never expected Charmy, of all people, to end up as a low-life. This, of course, intrigued me to ask further questions.

"I doubt it were multiple groups that attacked you, though. Tell me about the one that was responsible for this."

Charmy kept on laughing, and then proceeded to fix himself a glass of old, filthy red wine that was rolling around the dusty floor.

"They call themselves the 'Neo Mobian Front'; same guys who killed president number uno. I didn't like 'em too much, but they had exceptionally good offers that I was not able to shake off! Worked for 'em like 2 years. Left 'em though 'cause they became more and more vile towards me for some odd reasons. And thus, I robbed 'em dry with the help of a few others, and made a grand escape. Since then they been huntin' me down, but with no success! Except the previous 2 days. Somehow, they tracked me! Someone must've snitched…"

He then took a massive gulp out of the glass he poured the drink in, following this up by choking the entire beverage down. The worn-out bee of course became tipsy, and I kept on having to help him up, as to not leave him completely collapse. While carefully guiding him to the only usable chair in the room, I proceeded my questioning.

"Who was the current leader of the Front?"

"Bah, how should I know? He kept his identity secret. What a wuss! Many officials hid themselves from the ordinary members. That was, by the way, another reason why I left 'em! I don't like all this 'discreet/secret' mess. Who am I to blame when something goes wrong? Pitiful! Pitiful indeed…"

"I request you to stay on-topic. I have no use for trivial information. Do you have absolutely no idea who the leader may be? A guess, perhaps?"

"Ehhh, now that I think of it… I might be havin' a tiny guess! I got my fingers on some disclosed data, which was encrypted like crazy. But! I was able to decipher a few ittsie-bittsies, including some sweet infos on our man! Since we only referred to him as "My Leader", I never knew that his name was apparently "Vastly", although it did hint at it being just a nickname. He supposedly had past experiences of being a leader, but no good one! He wears a red shell as well… Think he might be one of those turtle-thingies we saw in those different universes…?"

"I doubt it. If I thought correctly, I already identified this person. However, I do not want to conclude too quickly. We will find out soon enough."

"And then do what? I ain't interested in hunting this fella down! I don't even care to ask who he might be! Killin' him will do nothin'!"

"Exactly. That is why I will not harm him when I encounter him."

"Uhhh… Pardon?"

Facing the shattered window, I took a deep sigh before continuing.

"Everything has gone downhill for far too long. This planet was once outstandingly beautiful, and I want to take it back. Thus, I plan to gather as many of past's heroes as possible. I already know that you are willing to join either way…"

"Actually…! Ugh, ya are right. This does sound neat…"

"Of course. This so-called 'Leader' might be willing to join as well. I am positive that I have the capacity to convince him."

"Huh… Well, I still needa wrap my head 'round all of this! This sounds sooo excitin'! Now I would also be interesting in knowin' who the guy is you were thinkin' 'bout…"

"Heh, it'll be a surprise. Just be patient, my new companion!"

As we were having our long and pleasant conversation, rambling about all kinds of random stuff, my sensors picked up a noise. It was quiet, but in our close surroundings. I shushed Charmy in order to pay better attention to the echoing sound waves. As the volume steadily became louder and more frequent, I was able to pick up whispering, marching and the sounds of various weapons being prepared and loaded up. We both looked at each other in silence, immediately realizing that the group has caught up to the yellow bee. Quickly grasping his hand, I rushed him down to the cellar. Since I knew this place by heart, I was aware of the secret tunnel leading to an emergency exit. However, I could not just simply have us escape without doing anything against our persecutors, who would eventually trace us again. Besides, this might be a way for me to get in contact with their leader. Therefore, I pushed my companion through the entrance of the tunnel and shut the door tight with Chaos Energy. Beforehand though, I reassured him we would meet up soon enough. Right after doing so, the wall was busted open, with exactly 39 armed men standing right in front of me. They immediately pointed their guns at me, perhaps in order to 'exterminate any witnesses'. That is their petty excuse to execute anyone they want to. Not even my empire, which shared the same ideology, was this bloodthirsty. As I clenched my fist, I felt the cybernetic adrenaline pumping through my digital veins (also known as 'cables'). This time, I will not hold myself back anymore. I can unleash myself again.

While I was in my short trance, I did not notice that I was already under fire. Multiple bullets were aggressively launching at me, yet none successfully pierced through my tough armour. Without hesitation, I swiftly booted up my rocket at maximum power, dashing around the mob in supersonic speed. I teased them by doing so, since no one was able to keep up. After having played around enough, I launched myself towards the sky, and came charging down directly into the vile crowd. This, of course, killed a good portion of the enemies whilst the rest was hurled around. As they were still navigating in the air, I rushed to homing-attack into the rest of them, getting rid of all the persecutors. Alternatively, so I thought. Four more members, who seemed to be of a higher ranking, were apparently quietly spectating the entire fight in order to charge when the time was ripe. Instead of arms, they were carrying sharp blades. I was able to block all their blows, though they were a more difficult challenge for me. Eventually I had enough, thus activated my core, and blasted a powerful beam, pulverizing the fiends by the quickest. I brushed off the dust and was about to dash back, where I suddenly heard a familiar voice coming out of nowhere.

"I knew it was a good idea to have come along. I may not have found the traitor, but I did finally find you."

Confused who it was, I searched around, but could not locate the character talking to me. I decided to play along and respond, hoping to receive answers.

"I require of you to identify yourself, or else I will be pressured to use force."

My threats of course do not always work, but it is better than saying nothing. In addition, I had no motive to negotiate with someone I am likely to exterminate anyway.

"Ah, Metal, you're the same as always. I missed this. I truly do. Regardless, I believe I should finally crawl out of the shadows and reveal myself to you, my dear friend."

A caped man, who was hiding inside a shell of his the entire time, stood up and slowly approached me. Since this creature possessed a hard protective outer case, and was able to hide so well in it, I rapidly figured out with whom I was dealing with. I assumed correctly, as the person unveiled itself and showed me its face.

"Mighty the Armadillo… I was looking for you. How convenient."

"Indeed. I have been searching for you as well. You are my inspiration. Your glory is so awe-inspiring, and.."

"Keep your sweet-talk to yourself. Why were you pursuing Charmy? Has he done anything so incriminating that he deserves death?"

"But Metal, my lord, how can you defend such a nuisance? Can't you see that he's a traitor to everything we believe in…?"

"...ONCE believed in. I am positive I made that clear many years ago."

"...oh yeah, almost forgot. Nonetheless, can't you at least understand why I might be so upset at someone like him? I-I mean, just look at him.. He's a complete psycho! A crazy person!"

"And you are any different? Listen, I may not know all the details, nor do I care. What matters however is that I have been summoned by an unknown source. I thus plan to gather together a team of past heroes in order to be prepared for whatever may lay ahead. Charmy is the first member. Will you fight along, or let your hatred ignore your possible doom?"

After holding this short speech, Mighty let out a mild and subtle chuckle, slowly moving up to me with his head hanging down. Suddenly he stopped, clenched his fist and stared me directly into my eyes. After holding this stance, he declared with a loud voice.

"Whatever you say, my master. But first, prove me again if you truly are worthy and not just bluffing. I challenge you to a battle!"

"Fair enough."

His eyes suddenly sparkled. I haven't encountered him since more than a decade, so I had no idea what to expect. He seemed to be able to master Chaos Energy, if only a little. He probably attended the Interdimensional School of Chaos.

This was a school founded during the Tower administration by multiple powerful creatures who were able to master this energy nigh perfectly, including Shadow, who became much more open. But not too much, which is why he usually only did the organizational work. I occasionally funded the school, but only when they taught specific kinds of creatures. The place was still open to everyone and anyone, which is why it is very likely that Mighty went there for a while. It's still open, but has become very inactive after suffering attacks from rebellious students and other powerful criminals.

As my foe surrounded himself with a green aura, I booted up my engine and sharpened my claws again. I was still wearing the large trench coat after going through all this action, and so proceeded to throw it away to not become distracted. We both charged at each other at the same time, filled with adrenaline and determination. A glowing fist was launched at me, so I quickly teleported myself out of the way and behind my enemy, striking my foot against his back and making him land headfirst into the solid ground. However, he quickly regained strength again and landed a straight sucker punch whilst I was shortly not paying attention. But as his fist repelled off my chin, I swiftly grasped his arm, dug my claws deep inside him, and injected a tortuous fluid into his blood vessels which would electrocute his inner organs for a limited time. This stunned him for a few seconds, which is a opportunity I used to spin dash into him multiple times. As he quivered of pain on the floor, I pressed him down and stood dominating on top of the armadillo. Looking down at the defeaten Mobian, I asked.

"Will you surrender?"

Pulling him by his neck up high, I awaited an answer.

"I-I suppose I d-don't have another chance. I sh-shall submit to you, my lord."

"See? Wasn't that hard, was it?"

I then let the creature tumble to the ground and helped him up. As I touched him, I immediately healed all his wounds. We then shook hands, and embraced each other. Precisely, he did.

"Welcome to the team, newcomer."

Proud of my successful victory, I longed after my coat, put it on and glanced myself at the shattered mirror laying nearby. Many outer features of mine have changed over time. There were a few scars on my left eye, which both have changed their colour from red to orange, my right ear was heavily damaged, all two of my hands have turned black, and my overall armour has become darker. But I wasn't the only one where these aging features were visible. Charmy is now exactly one meters tall, has only one intact wing left, wears a torn cap, broken glasses, black boots and a pair of orange gloves. Nothing much has changed with Mighty, except that he now wears an oversized uniform of one of the high-ranking officials of my former empire. How cute.

We both headed towards the direction where I was supposed to meet up with Charmy. He thankfully prepared a fire, since it was getting dark and perhaps cold for my companions. They both seemed to understand and forgive each other quickly. In current world affairs, such shift of attitude was not only normal but also often necessary. This is something I'd miss if we ever get to change things.

"Welp, Imma gettin' tired. I've been runnin' all day long and lost all energy. This prob was the best day I had since a looong time! Can't wait to see what's expectin' us tomorrow! Sleep tight and g'night!"

"Same here. I am more than content to be reunited with my lord. May this wonderful day finally come to an end and lead to a new and better one! Rest well. Hail our people!"

"Get yourselves some rest. I'll watch over. Thank you for your cooperation."

And thus concluded this interesting and exciting day, which will only be the opening chapter to a certainly long and dramatic adventure. I have rested for far too long, and it was finally time to set things straight. How is everyone else doing? How have they changed and progressed over the years? My questions will soon be answered.

I heard the mysterious voice calling out to me again. It lead me here already, and is now proposing a new direction for me to follow. Whatever is calling out to me, it certainly is helping me to find people who are more than willing to join me in my quest. Starting tomorrow my team will move swiftly, so that no second is wasted. But I cannot be the only one who is being summoned. I have the unwell feeling that there is another one gathering together a group of past heroes as well, and I doubt that our teams will be at all cooperative. There is, after all, one Mobian, who would be on par with me…

Regardless, I will surround my company and myself with a protective shield. I, for the first time since decades, feel exhausted again. Finally, I can find the rest I have been longing for so long...


	2. Chapter 1: Flashback 1

Flashback One: Expedition

Ten months before the Metal Empire fell

-Entry no. 5476: This, without a doubt, was something extraordinary. The day began fairly normal. My Imperial Fleet was cruising through the outskirts of one of the neighboring galaxies. We were on the search for energy resources and other useful items. Besides, I also felt the need to enlarge my grand empire.

For a long period of time we encountered nothing out of the ordinary. It was either asteroids, gas, small moons without relevancy, and whatnot. Eventually, I saw it as pointless to continue on, since we already explored a vast majority of that entire galaxy. But, ironically, just as we were about to make a return, our radars detected something immensely high-powered nearby. We couldn't clearly spot anything, although the vision was perfectly free. I immediately demanded a swarm of fighter-jets to thoroughly examine the area. As they went out, I used this time to step outside and glance at the entire scenario. I had seen this dark void filled with bright stars and lights over and over again, yet I always got, and still do, perplexed each and every time I get another opportunity to inspect it. The soothing silence only adds to the calming aesthetic.

Times like those give me the opportunity to look back at things. I was reminded again when this glorious empire was first founded. It was around 15 years ago. I had just been released from questioning, and already headed towards different planets. Free from the clutches of the psychotic Dr. Eggman, I could finally allow myself to do whatever I pleased and desired. It was, after all, a new time for me. Since my betrayal against the professor, he held me in solitary confinement. He continually replaced me with inferior Metal Sonic models, which, of course, always failed in the most simplest tasks. It is still a surprise to me why he repeatedly insisted in rebuilding the same thing. Might be due to his poor mental health and his aging (I doubt his permanent imprisonment by the Mobius' government will fix any of that). Whatever it may be, ever since I received the ability to think and emote, my whole viewpoints changed. I refused to waste my time aimlessly running after Sonic and instead focused on building my own society, as I already attempted to when having overthrown the Eggman Empire. I had more than enough time to construct a fool free strategy to win over the entire other side of my home-galaxy. At first, I redesigned and updated myself, as to have a god-like and striking appearance. This I accomplished with the help of numerous mystical gems, leftovers of Eggman's crumbled empire, and a bit of Chaos Energy. I was, after all, able to master it during my long confinement.

Building myself a small fleet of ships and enough robotic pawns, I traveled with the quickness towards my first destination, which was a mere, inhabited planet on the far-end of the star system. It was easy to negotiate with the few inhabitants, making that small world my first conquest. They connected me with other nearby "partner-planets", making my empire grow swiftly. Most willingly obeyed to my orders and directions, since they received grand benefits such as advancement in technology, security and unity, something to identify with, and etc. As they worked on linking all 18 planets to create a massive one, I continued on my study of 'Mobian Supremacy', an ancient and highly controversial ideology. Its main message is to create a world in which only the 'timid animals' (like hedgehogs, rabbits, echidnas etc.) live in whilst the 'wild beasts' (like crocodiles, foxes, jackals etc.) deserve to be executed since they pose a threat to the 'other, superior, civilized groups of creatures'. This was an ideology I was especially fond of, which is why I had it preached around in the empire as much as possible. Most of the inhabitants were of the 'superior group' and couldn't care less, so they just tagged along. Some, however, were defending the 'inferior beasts' dwelling there. Any opposition was quickly dealt with.

The inhabitants underwent excessive military training in order to then help annex the larger planets nearby, which is what they did with the help of my robotic army. My empire grew more and more, mostly due to its convincing and wide-spread propaganda-outlets, convincing the majority to willingly be apart of everything I offered. In just a span of two years, the Metal Empire was finally completely finished, dominating more than a quarter of the entire galactic area.

As I was still recapping all of my favorite memories from those times, I was interrupted by a loud and heavy beeping. I received a notification on my inbuilt communicational device. The swarm I had sent out have discovered something that may have been of interest. And it most certainly was. They had stumbled upon a nearby, abandoned ship, which was hidden amongst a bunch of flying rubble. It was disguised so well, meaning that whoever left it there put forth the additional effort to not let it be discovered. Fortunately, this person didn't expect the most powerful empire to find it. Who even possesses the ability to hide anything from me?

I instructed my pawns to find an entrance, but everything was perfectly sealed off. Due to that, a door needed to be created. Three soldiers were sent to slowly cut one large enough, while I examined the area much more in detail. Nothing seemed too strange, yet at the same time, nothing seemed too normal either. The fact that almost the whole content of this galaxy is so dull and empty further increased my suspiciousness. What if there was once life here, yet had been completely annihilated by an unknown force? Could this explain this random ship just hidden there? But why wasn't it destroyed, and instead kept in a perfect state? I would have asked myself more questions, but I became distracted by a sudden turn of events. The robots, who had finally finished their job, were suddenly consumed by a mystic, dark aura. Due to the situation escalating so tremendously, everyone who noticed this strange occurrence panicked like crazy, before becoming engulfed as well. The dark aura was, unexpectedly, surrounding the entire fleet and swiftly devoured anything trapped inside. Upon switching to battle mode, I decided to surround myself with Chaos Energy before then dashing directly to the source of this bizarre cloud, which was inside that ship. I entered with ease and was able to extinguish this mist with Chaos Control. Yet, it seemed I was too late, due to the fact that my entire fleet appeared to be completely gone. Before exploring any further, I sent a message to my other fleets, notifying them to pick me up as soon as possible.

Ranking up the brightness of my eyes and wandering around, I noticed many things that stood out to me. There were large paintings hanging on each wall, displaying a massive city and some sort of kingdom. It took me a while to understand the many oil-paintings, flags, symbols, and other miscellaneous items; It seemed that the ship was a royal cruiser from the ruling monarchy of Solaris. I wish I had read more about this odd government in order to have understood the meanings of all these things much quicker. This reminded me how, after the fascist takeover of the Federal Republic, the last queen of Solaris, Elise, disbanded the entire monarchy and evacuated as far away as possible. She had absolutely no interest in associating herself with the renewed world order. The ship I was in was, potentially, her means of escape. But where was she and her accompanies then? Why did they leave everything behind? Nothing was wrong with the cruiser, since it was in perfect shape. As I was meditating over these questions, I suddenly felt some sort of urge to head to the lounge close by. It was as if something was luring me in. Losing all control over my legs, I headed directly inside, not knowing what to expect.

I decided to sit on a comfy couch inside the lounge. As I was laying so comfortably, I let myself sink into the criminally soft seat more and more. My eyes became excessively weary, and I refused to let them open any longer. Would it really be troublesome if a royalty like me were to shortly fall asleep? As it turned out, most definitely, yes. The sinking refused to stop, as if invisible forces were pulling me down to the abyss. Exactly that was also occurring. The couch around me eventually disappeared and I was surrounded by that dark aura again, continuously dragging me downwards. Any attempts to crawl out were unsuccessful. Eventually, the falling ended and I landed headfirst on a solid ground. Surprised of having survived that great drop, I tried to examine the ground I laid on. Not even Chaos Energy was able to detect out of what material it was made of. My engine, to my shock, refused to work as well, so I had no other choice than to walk around and try to find something relevant and helpful.

While I was wandering around, I had an unusual feeling of being watched. Was my mind already playing tricks with me? I doubted it and simply carried on. After a while, though, the dusk space steadily became brighter and brighter. The silhouette of a strangely familiar character also appeared in front of me.

It appeared to be a hedgehog, with features only Shadow possesses. I must admit, this did put me off. It didn't help either that this thing started to move. Fed up with this storm of unexpected and strange occurrences, I overcame my fear and dashed towards the shadowy figure. However, my attacks just went right through it.

As soon as I observed the environment again, this mystical spirit multiplied itself countless times, with each and individual copy ganging up on me. They slowly approached me, but since I already discovered that their bodies were like holograms, I easily dashed through them in order to safely escape. But it almost seemed as if there were no end to the amount of these copies. They appeared over and over again. If this went on any longer, I would have went insane, yet, conveniently, it all instantaneously stopped. Instead, a more clearer and detailed version of this figure stood in front of me. It looked nigh identical to Shadow, yet its facial and bodily features were quite different. Its fur was mostly midnight blue, grey and white. There was no mouth or nose on it. The eyes were red and green, and its overall appearance was far more than intimidating.

"I request you to identify yourself."

I hesitantly demanded him to perform something I already knew was not going happen. And I was correct. This creature instead stretched out its arm and directly shot a crimson beam through my head, yet I did not feel any pain. However, everything around me started to fade away, and I was only able to hear the last few words that the hideosity threw at me.

"Expect me very soon. This will all end."

The tone of its voice alone was so frightening, so petrifying, that it alone would had been enough to have sent me into an unconscious state. Yet, I didn't let myself get beaten so easily. Sharpening my claws and booting up my engine, which finally was functional again, I jumped at the demonic being with full might. It, however, counterattacked mine by blocking all my blows with a violet-green shield. This threw me off, but instead of becoming paralyzed of shock, I immediately teleported myself behind my foe, and used this opportunity to strike multiple times. Scratching and slashing with all my power, I ended it by a blasting an energized beam out of my core. This should have done some massive damage. Instead, though, I did not seem to have left even a mark. I was about to try again, but the mystifying beam shot at me earlier was doing its job, since I fainted right afterwards.

As I was waking up, I saw myself surrounded by inaudible sounds, bright flashes, and the white silhouettes of different beings. It seemed that I was laying on solid ground, and eventually I got to see everything much clearer. I was inside one of the carriers I instructed to come for me. They were taking care of me, since my mental state had deteriorated a bit. Understandably, of course. As of now, I have given them the order to head us all back to my commanding office. Strangely, though, our ship is currently undergoing a few unsettling turbulences, which is very new, especially in this area. What might this possibly be? As I am silently peeking out the windows, I notice a white flash engulfing everything all of sudden. Where did that come from? I believe I am being summoned back. This certainly is not a positive sign...


End file.
